Within Australia, experts pointed
to the work of Stone;&;Chalk – an
independent, not-for-profit;Fin-Tech;hub based in Sydney which
houses more than 80;Austra-
lian;start-ups – as an example of
the country’s Fin Tech hub.

“My view in terms of wherewe sit regionally for promotingFin Tech is based on what I see inStone & Chalk and on that basis,Australia looks very favourable,”Asia is growing when it comesto the pace of venture capital (VC)investments in Fin Tech companies.According to statistics from KPMG,Asia saw 35 deals and US$1.2 bil-lion in funding, compared to $0.2billion in funding and 38 deals inEurope, and $0.9 billion in fundingand 96 deals in North America, fora total of $2.4 billion in funding and178 deals globally.

Venture capital

The overall decline in VC activity at the global level strongly
contrasts with the growth seen in
Asia, particularly in China, says Ian
Pollari, KPMG’s global co-head of
FinTech.

“Obviously, the headline at a glob-al level is the decline in the overalltrend of investment,” Pollari says.“But Asia has hit an all-time highwith $8.6 billion in overall Fin Techinvestment. This is dominated byThe KPMG report noted thatFin Tech VC investment in Asia cansee “peaks and valleys”, primarilyaround the large $1 billion-plusmega deals. The KPMG reportadded that in the first quarter ofJD Finance accounted for almosthalf of all Fin Tech funding in Asiaduring the quarter. There were nosimilar deals in the second quarterand while investment in the thirdquarter of 2016 increased, the toptwo deals were both under $500million – $449 million to Qufengiand $310 million to 51xinyongka.

“There are di;erent dimensions
to Asia from a Fin Tech perspective,
as there is from a financial services
and economic standpoint,” Pollari
adds. “Over the last few years,
China has started to really raise its
profile, supported by some really
impressive funding rounds. China
is emerging as a global leader
in Fin Tech. That’s really been
brought to the surface with the
significant mega-financing rounds
that have been announced.”

“Hong Kong, Singapore and other markets in Asia,none were impacted by the financial crisis to thesame degree, and as a result, the regulators arecoming at it from a di;erent source.”

JAMES LLOYD, ASIA PACIFIC FINTECH LEADER, E Y

“China is emerging
as a global leader in
Fin Tech and that’s
really been brought
to the surface with
the significant mega-financing rounds
that have been
announced.”